HOW USDE RELEASES REPORT ON HOMELESS ABSENTEEISM IN SCHOOLS! (1796 hits)
The Institue for Children, Poverty, & Homelessness (ICPH) has just released a report entitled Empty Seats: The Epidemic of Absenteeism Among Homeless Elementary Students
This report, based on data on New York City public school elementary students, examines the relationship between school mobility, absenteeism, and school performance. Key findings of the report include:
•Homeless elementary students missed an average of four weeks of school (19 days) in SY 2013–14. This was a week and a half more than low-income housed students (12 days) and two weeks more than non low-income housed students (9 days). •Homeless children were chronically absent at almost twice the overall citywide rate — 36% compared to 19% in SY 2013–14. •Among homeless elementary students, those living in shelter had the highest rate of chronic absenteeism. In SY 2013–14, 58% of students living in shelter were chronically absent compared to 25% of homeless students who were living doubled up. •Homeless children enroll in schools where high rates of chronic absenteeism are already a problem. More than 10,000, or 28% of homeless elementary students were enrolled in schools where over 1/3 of all students were chronically absent in SY 2013–14. •School transfers greatly increase rates of chronic absenteeism. Of the 1,600 homeless elementary students living in shelter who transferred twice or more in SY 2013–14, 80% were chronically absent. •Chronically absent homeless children repeated the same grade at over three times the rate of homeless students who missed fewer than five school days in SY 2013–14. •Homeless elementary students who missed fewer than five days of school passed State assessment tests at about the same rate as their low-income housed peers (38% compared to 37%). Just 12% of chronically absent homeless students achieved proficiency in either their English Language Arts or Math test.
